Carrowmore Dolmen in County Sligo is one of Ireland’s major megalithic sites, along with Poulnabrone Dolmen (Co. de Clare), and Brownshill Dolmen (Co. Carlow). Located on the Coolrea peninsula in County Sligo, the Carrowmore dolmen remains one of the island’s most complete dolmens, with its stone circle still intact, and its surrounding tombs…
Carrowmore dolmen – Ana Rey – cc
The Carrowmore dolmen(Ceathrú Mór in Irish Gaelic) is like most Irish dolmens, easily accessible and located close to Irish roads! Impossible to miss, you’ll see it along the R292, rising proudly into the sky. A small farm located 2km from the dolmen serves as a Visitor Centre. There’s also an exhibition on Irish megalithic sites, and a multilingual guided tour (for a fee).
More specifically, the Carrowmore dolmen consists of 5 granite blocks forming a burial chamber sheltered from the sun and water. The dolmen is thought to date from the Neolithic period, although a German archaeologist (Bürenhult) claims that the dolmen is Mesolithic in origin. In any case, some tombs have been dated to 3600 BC, thus challenging Bürenhult’s hypothesis.
As far as the dolmen’s position on the site is concerned, Carrowmore faces east, towards sunrise, and therefore benefits from maximum sunlight in the morning: we therefore advise you to visit before midday, to enjoy the dolmen from a breathtaking angle! Many dolmens have this same characteristic, and there are still many hypotheses about this geographical orientation.
But there’s more to the Carrowmore site than just a dolmen: there are also numerous stone circles arranged around the main dolmen. These circles range in circumference from 12 to 15 metres, and are all tombs. (To date, there are some thirty graves around Carrowmore…).
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